Marigolds 'Jolly Jester'
- Seed

Tagetes patula nana 'Jolly Jester'

Create the most beautiful combinations!

Tagetes patula 'Jolly Jester' is a fairly new African marigold with masses of unusual, brightly striped flowers. Plant them in combination with other annuals for a striking display. Because of the bright colours the flowers are irresistible to butterflies.

Plant Details

How to Sow

Sow under glass: February to April.
Sow in the garden: April to June.
There are two ways to sow:

It's easy to sow from February indoors using a windowsill propagator - or perhaps in the cold frame. Fill little pots with some potting compost and plant one seed per pot. Tagetes (Marigold) seeds need the light to germinate so do not cover it, just press it carefully down and sprinkle your row of pots with water and the heat will do the rest. Plant seedlings up to a slightly larger pot, then outdoors from mid-May. Stand seedlings in a cooler spot in the light if the weather doesn't play along.

Sow directly in the garden, in a sunny spot from the end of April through into June. Loosen the soil with a fork to about 30 cm and draw a straight grove about 1 cm deep. Always label your rows! Drop the seeds along each row but don't cover them as Tagetes (Marigold) needs light to germinate. Just press each seed carefully onto the soil and then sprinkle the row with water. Extra rows should be 30 cm apart.

Seedlings need protection from frost - use garden fleece if it is forecast.
The seeds should germinate in 7-14 days.
Plant out in May and remember to plant according to their height - Tagetes patula is small, they go 10 cm apart. Then there are mid-height varieties, they go 20 cm apart, and the large ones (Tagetes erecta) need to be 30 cm from each other.

Water extra in periods of drought and keep the bed free of weed and your marigolds will thrive. Marigolds are very undemanding but beware of their roots being too wet. They will even do well in poor soil.
The flowers will show from June through to the first frosts. Remove dead flowers to encourage reflowering and feed the plants monthly for more profuse flowering. If the winter is mild they will likely spread and it's nice to wait and see what colour the flowers will be.
Tip: Marigolds are often used to keep nematodes at bay in the kitchen garden. Alternate rows of carrot and marigold can work wonders.

Flowering

Flowering: June-October.
Marigolds, especially long stemmed ones, make terrific cut flowers! Just cut the stems with a sharp knife and they'll look great in a summery bouquet!
The short stemmed varieties bring wonderful colour to your beds and borders and look great in any type of window boxes too.

Marigolds are annuals that grow 15-30 cm tall. There are some that will actually grow to 1 m tall but these low growers are used a lot in beds and borders to bring so much colour with their lovely tinted petals!
Tagetes is classified as Asteraceae. The flowers have ray florets or disc florets.
This plant originated in the countries of Central America.
Tagetes hybrids that we know as bedding plants came from various crossed pollinations and hybridising. These hybrids vary enormously in the size of both plant and flower. Some grow no higher than 15 cm but there are some hybrids that grow to one metre tall!

How to use

Marigolds are strong plants that bring lots of colour to a summer bed or border. The low growing varieties are perfect in pots and window-boxes on your patio or decking and the taller ones are just wonderful right in the border.
Marigolds are sun worshippers and need a good permeable soil.